Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Alternity S&S Magic Hazards

CompulsionMagical power is an addictive thing. Once tasted, the lust for it never goes away. Any time a caster’s power or ability increases the player must make a Compulsion Check. If this check fails, the character’s Compulsion modifier, which begins at 0 increases one step. If the character is ever faced with the opportunity to increase his prowess, and the player wishes to pass on the opportunity, a Compulsion Check is made against the character’s WILL. If this check is unsuccessful, the player must attempt to obtain the object of the Compulsion. This could be a spellbook, enchanted object, rare ingredients, or magical formula. Anything that could result in the character being more powerful is fair game. Note that fulfilling the Compulsion is not a suicide mission. If the object of desire is well-guarded or otherwise inaccessible, the character will plot and scheme ceaselessly until he works out a plan for acquiring the object. It is an obsessive Compulsion, though, and will dominate his every thought until he owns it.CorruptionMagical power was never intended to be wielded by men. It is corrupting, damaging to a caster’s very humanity. Too much contact with the forces of magic will eventually render the caster a twisted, mad creature, no longer human. Casters have an additional Trait, Humanity. It starts at one-half WILL. Each time a casting roll attempted, successful or not, the player must make a Corruption Check, against the character’s WILL. This roll is always made with the Control Die only. Each time it is failed, the next roll is made with a +1 per failure. If the roll fails, the character’s Humanity drops by 1. If the sum of the roll + modifier is 20 or more, the character has acquired an Arcane Taint, selected from the following list:Negative Aura* Animals and children react negatively to such a character. Animals and children will never react favorably to such a character and may react very negatively.Disfigurement** One of the character’s normal physical features becomes disfigured. It is disturbing and discomfiting to look at, but not supernatural or unnatural. Affects Interaction Broad Skill.Distrusted The character finds it very difficult to win the trust of NPCs. Affects Culture, Interaction, and Leadership Broad Skills.Broken** The character’s physical being is becoming weakened by constant exposure to magic. Affects all Strength Skills, plus Endurance.Mutation** An unnatural form of disfigurement. This could take the form of a cloven hoof replacing a foot, an obnoxious odor, eyes of unnatural hue, claw hand, or anything else that isn’t natural about the human body. Affects all Personality Skills.Odious Personal Habit* The character develops a personal habit that is so bad it negatively affects his interactions with others. Some examples could include arguing with oneself very loudly, refusing to bath, “nervous" speech patterns, insistence on neurotic behaviors, etc. The possibilities are endless. This affects all Personality Skills.Nocturnal The character has become a creature of the night. Any activity undertaken in daylight suffers a +1 Step penalty.Mad The character has become insane. This is difficult to nail down and should be worked out on an individual basis. No matter what, though, it is bad. Each time an Arcane Taint is gained it causes a +1 Step Penalty to the associated ability.

Odious Personal Habit
The character develops a personal habit that is so bad it negatively affects his interactions with others. Some examples could include arguing with oneself very loudly, refusing to bath, “nervous" speech patterns, insistence on neurotic behaviors, etc. The possibilities are endless. This affects all Personality Skills.

Nocturnal
The character has become a creature of the night. Any activity undertaken in daylight suffers a +1 Step penalty.

Mad
The character has become insane. This is difficult to nail down and should be worked out on an individual basis. No matter what, though, it is bad.

Each time an Arcane Taint is gained it causes a +1 Step Penalty to the associated ability.